The attorney for an Alexander man accused of driving drunk at the time of a fatal accident in Darien wants to see the mobile phone records for the occupants of the car carrying the Dansville teenager who was killed.
District Attorney Lawrence Friedman says that Defense Attorney Thomas Burns is merely on a "fishing expedition" in his request for the records.
The request and Friedman 's response are in motions filed by the two attorneys in the case of 24-year-old Ronald J. Wendt.
Wendt faces a 12-count indictment in the case, including an enhancement charge that could lead to a 25-year prison sentence.
"The requested records are relevant and highly probative on the issue of the driver's attention to road conditions and other traffic immediately to the automobile accident," Burns writes.
Burns goes on to note that distracted driving, according to the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration, accounts for 26 percent of motor vehicle accidents.
Friedman responded, "There has never been any indication that anyone in the victims' automobile was using a cell phone at or near the time of the collision ... Instead, the defense is simply attempting to engage in a "fishing expedition" ... The people are not in possession of, nor aware of, the existence of any such cell phone records. Furthermore, we fail to see the relevance of possible cell phone communications involving passengers in said vehicle. Finally, it is the People's position that there is no authority for the Defendant's baseless effort to obtain possible cell phone records of crime victims and that such discovery would be beyond the parameters of (evidence law)."
Katie M. Stanley was killed in the Aug. 14 accident. Stanley was a passenger in a Toyota driven by a friend from Dansville and there were two other passengers. The group was returning from Darien Lake on Route 5 when it entered Darien Center, where the speed limit quickly drops from 55 mph to 40 mph. Wendt was apparently the driver of a Dodge Ram pickup that turned left into the parking lot of My Saloon just ahead of the oncoming car.
The Toyota struck the rear of the pickup truck. There has been no evidence presented so far, nor reports of, skid marks or other evasive action by the driver of the Toyota.
Wendt reportedly told a Sheriff's deputy that he had been drinking beer that day while baling hay. Deputy Tim Wescott reported that Wendt demonstrated slurred speech, had the odor of alcohol and demonstrated poor coordination following the accident. He reportedly had a BAC of .08.
Judge Robert Noonan will hear oral arguments in the motions on Jan. 19.
Burns has also filed a standard number of motions to disclose evidence, open the Grand Jury minutes, dismiss the case on various grounds and suppress specific pieces of evidence on various legal grounds.
For previous coverage, click here (all previous stories on this topic are now tagged "Ronald J. Wendt").
So if it turns out the driver
So if it turns out the driver of the car was on the cell phone or texting, will he then be charged with vehicular manslaughter also? can both people be charged with the same crime?
I remember a few years back
I remember a few years back when a man and his family were killed in an accident caused by a drunk driver. The case went to court and the argument was that the dead man was a truck driver. Since defensive driving was part of his career skill sets then he was just as much to blame as the person driving the other car.
Trial by jury has strange outcomes. The jury agreed that the dead man should have used his skills to avoid the accident.
One never knows what piece of information will sway a jury.
I remember this case when it
I remember this case when it came out. This Mr. Wendt was right on the .08 limit. Believe it or not, some people can drive perfectly fine while above the .08 limit.
Yeah, he was above the limit. I honestly doubt his actions are the direct cause of this accident.
District Attorney Lawrence
District Attorney Lawrence Friedman says that Defense Attorney Thomas Burns is merely on a "fishing expedition" in his request for the records...........................................When it comes to alcohol related incidents in Genesee County the last thing the 'powers to be' want is justice. MONEY!!! Give us the money. Keep those programs open to keep people employed. They don't like your attitude? Keep them in the program indefinetly. MONEY !!! The longer the program, more MONEY comes in; to keep these same people employed. A vicious circle. Perhaps a certain deputy with a record for DWI arrests should occasionally be breathalyzed.
Mike, If Wendt is found
Mike,
If Wendt is found guilty, what money? He'd be in jail maybe for 15 years. The average rate of pay for an inmate in State Prison is 90 cents a day. And out of that, he has to pay the court cost.
Does not sound like this is a money maker.
I don't go in for this
I don't go in for this conspiracy theory thinking, some crazy notion that people are operating insincerely or with ulterior motives.
I've no doubt that people on both sides are doing quite sincerely what they think is right, proper, ethical and in the best interest in justice.
There are multiple theories to this case, and I have no reason to believe anybody is pursuing any of those theories for impure reasons.
And John's right -- the idea that the government stands to make any real money off this case just isn't a sound supposition.
John are sure you read all of
John are sure you read all of Mikes post before commenting? Government programs never get smaller or fix a problem.